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Product: Outside-ear headphones
Developer: AirDrives
Minimum Requirements: Audio device with 1/8” stereo mini jack
Price: $59.99 - $99.99
Availability: Now

Headphones are dangerous.  Your ears are more delicate than you’d like to admit, and in-ear headphones aren’t doing anything to help the problem.  I’m sure you’ve heard the crazy kids who think their heads are boom boxes with their headphones blaring.  They’ll be getting hearing aids for their birthdays next year.  Please, for the sake of your ears, don’t be like them.  Instead, you could get a pair of AirDrives.

AirDrives are headphones made in true Apple style; they are different in almost every way.  They don’t go in your ears, they go on them.  They don’t have noise canceling technology, and they don’t seal you off from the outside world.  In fact, you could have a conversation with them on while playing music, and you’d be perfectly fine.  I wouldn’t recommend that last one though, it’s still rude.

AirDrives use what they call InAir technology.  Basically, the audio bounces on your ears along with ambient sounds combining in a pleasant way.  So you’ll be able to hear things around you when wearing these.  It’s very similar to listening to speakers close by, especially if you can manage to forget that you’re wearing them.

The biggest advantage of these headphone is that it’s nearly impossible to damage your hearing with them.  Listen up parents, this makes them an ideal product for your kids.  They are sold in smaller, kid specific sizes, and you’ll never have to tell them to turn it down.

They’re also great for people who live in big cities.  You might think you want to be in your own little world, but it’s kind of dangerous.  Hearing cars or other pedestrians while you are walking is an advantage.  These might help you be more aware, but nothing can help you with your addiction to texting or browsing the Internet while you walk.  You’re bound to hit a pole one of these days.

By now, you might have noticed that I love these headphones.  For the past few years, I’ve been worried more than most about damaging my hearing.  These completely solve that problem, as far as headphones are concerned.  And some might argue against me, but I like the way they sound.  They open up the sound by bouncing it off of your ears naturally.  I think it makes the sound more full and realistic.

But they aren’t without flaw.  While they are fully adjustable, since they don’t go into your ears at all, or completely cover your ears, it’s difficult to get them to stay perfectly still.  It’s possible, but you’ll need to do some tweaking.  If you’re a runner, you may have an unpleasant run or two before these get settled in.

The model I got is iPhone compatible.  That means it has a slim connector, a volume slider and a clicker for song control.  I’m not a huge fan of either of those last two.  The clicker isn’t as robust as I’d like, and I’ve never liked volume sliders, though some will find it useful.  But these are by no means deal breakers.

Ultimately, you have to decide how much of my Kool-Aid you’re drinking.  If you don’t want to be isolated from the world, if you enjoy sound naturally bouncing off of your ears, if you are worried about damaging your hearing, then these are the headphones for you.  If you don’t agree with those last statements, then there’s pretty much nothing I can say to get you to like these.

In the end, everyone is different.  Some love their in-ear headphones, some swear by DJ style headphones, some wouldn’t buy anything that doesn’t say Bose on it, and some would like to be able to hear for the next few years.  I know that there are a lot of people out there, especially parents, who will enjoy these.